1974 Chevy Cheyenne Rock Crawler - Family Iron

Almost every 4x4 we've stumbled across has a story. Some are good, some are boring, and some we just don't want to hear. But we think the tale behind this '74 Chevy Cheyenne is especially cool, since the truck is a father-to-son hand-me-down.

In our opinion, an old 4x4 is really the only real gift that keeps on giving. This classic 4x4 started life as the Kine family hauler, taking the boys on Cub Scout camping trips and then becoming pop's work truck. After its retirement from the workforce, the old weathered Cheyenne became a different kind of family adventure machine-a hard-core trail rig.

Nothing fancy here, yet it has everything a hard-core four-wheeler needs, right down to the three stick shifters for the 5.1 StaK Monster transfer case, and the Cobra Classic 29 CB. What more could a guy ask for?

The Chevy sat idle around the homestead for a while until Matt Kine laid claim to it. The Cheyenne still had the original high-mileage engine, work ladder rack in the bed, and factory axles and suspension. After a few hot laps around the block and an attempted trail run or two, Matt figured it was time for a change. He worked his way through a few different suspension modifications, made some custom body modifications, welded the tubework, and then bolted in a big-block Chevy engine. After two years of work the truck morphed into a functional and dependable trail rig, with nothing pretty or shiny on it-except of course for the ingenuity and exceptional craftsmanship that it took to build it.